To students, parents, teachers and all who care about defending and transforming public education:

Public Education Justice Alliance of Minnesota (PEJAM) is hosting our first public forum. At the forefront of our focus right now is the threat of closure that North High is facing due to two new charter schools that the Board of Education already approved quietly with almost no input from the Twin Cities community. If no one fights to stop them, the first of the new charters will open in North Minneapolis in the fall of 2011. The new charters are expected to swallow up 10% of the public school population. North High has already dwindled in population with less than 300 students, due to years of underfunding and neglect. These new charters are not only a threat to North High, but will also seriously encroach on the South Minneapolis schools, taking the per student public funding.

Come to the meeting to help us build a campaign to draw a line in the sand against the dismantling and privatization of public education.

Our panel will explore the impact of budget cuts and the expansion of charters in Minneapolis and nationally on the quality of education. Obama’s aggressive program of education reform, including “Race to the Top” has been widely denounced by teachers unions, the NAACP, Urban League, and others. But how can teachers, students, and parents challenge the steady re-segregation and privatization of our public schools? We will finish the meeting with a discussion on ideas for action, including mobilizing for city-wide demonstrations and a concert in Loring Park on October 7th, a National Day of Action to Defend Public Education.

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About PEJAM

We are a grassroots community organization of teachers, parents, students, and community members dedicated to defending and supporting a fully funded, just, equitable, and democratic system of public education.

Check out the Points of Unity page for our full platform on education issues.